1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mirror and an angle detection device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an exterior mirror for vehicles, and an angle detection device for detecting an tilted angle of a mirror surface of the exterior mirror.
2. Description of the Related Arts
There is an exterior mirror having an angle adjusting device, which adjusts the tilted angle of the exterior mirror to obtain good rear side view. In such an exterior mirror, the tilted angle of the mirror surface can be adjusted to meet the viewing angle of the driver. However, since it is complicated to delicately readjust the tilted angle whenever the driver is changed, it is desired to reproduce the tilted angle suitable for respective driver.
Various suggestions have been made to detect the tilted angle for reproducing the tilted angle of the mirror surface. For example, an angle detection device having a resistor, slidable connect which slides the resistor according to the variation (tilting) of the mirror surface has been suggested. According to this device, since the slidable connect moves to meet the tilting of the mirror surface to change the voltage, the voltage can be detected to thereby detect the tilted angle (For Example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-264726, hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1).
In the device for detecting the position of the mirror (angle detection device) disclosed in Patent Document 1, the slidable connect (connect member) slides in the thickness direction of the mirror on the resistor substrate accompanying with the movement of the adjust nut. For this reason, considering a room space alpha, when the length of the resistor on the substrate is S, and the length of the connect member is L, a space of the mirror surface in the thickness direction for providing the resistor substrate of not less than S+L+alpha should be ensured. Consequently, in many cases, in conventional, decreasing the size of the angle detection device in the thickness direction of the mirror surface can be made only with difficulty.
An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a mirror and an angle detection device, which can solve the problem associated with the prior art.